The Three C's
by spacecadetcm11
Summary: Cappie returns to school after winter break with his best friend from home...but there's something nobody at Cyprus Rhodes ever knew about Cappie's friend Chris.CC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Greek characters…but I do own Chris…and would love to take Cappie off the hands of anyone who's selling

He wasn't sure why he hadn't told anyone anything more about Chris than he had. He certainly wasn't hiding anything, there was nothing to hide...he hadn't told anyone because no one had thought to ask. Why was he worrying about this? It wasn't like he hadn't kept things from people before. Casey…he had defiantly kept things from Casey….like the fact that he loved her more than she could ever know….and Chris. Of everyone, he probably should have told Casey about Chris….

He looked over at his best friend, who was currently singing along to whatever lame 80's song it was that had come over the radio. Typical Chris. Why was Chris coming with him back to Cyprus Rhodes with him now anyway? There had never been an interest to visit him there before, why now? Wasn't the there some huge University somewhere waiting for its genius to return?

"Hey, you alright?" Chris turned off the radio and turned to face him smiling. "You haven't said anything since we the Ohio boarder."

"I'm fine…really." He tried in vain to hide his inner battle from his friend. It was so easy with everyone else, but not with Chris.

"You don't seem fine. Is this the Casey and Rebecca thing again? I told you we'd fix that…I'm here now, everything will work out, I promise." Chris's optimism made Cappie smile as they passed the sign welcoming them to Cyprus Rhodes, and he decided right then not to let the secret bother him anymore, after all everyone would find out eventually anyway…

Casey sat on the bed of her new room in the ZBZ house…alone. It wasn't like she hadn't had here own room before, growing up she had slept alone…apart from the sound of Rusty grinding his teeth from the next room. But now she missed Ashleigh. They'd been roommates since freshman year, and now…the hall really did seem long now. As President she did get the best room in the house, her own bathroom…a full fridge…and no roommate to chat with in the middle of the night. Maybe this was why Franny had lost her mind.

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE HERE!!!" Now there was a squeal she recognized.

"Hey BFF! How was your winter break? You didn't run into Travis again since the last time me talked did you?" Casey jumped off her bed and hugged Ashleigh.

"No, but I do need some air." Ashleigh pretended to choke and the two laughed. "Hey lets start this semester off right, none of the other sisters will be here until tomorrow, let's go to Dobbler's!"

Casey pulled away from he friend and went back to sit on the bed. "I don't know…I'd hate to run into a certain ex of mine."

"Which one?" Ashleigh looked slightly put out at the prospect of talking about those two again…

"Evan…Duh." Casey knew she would be going with Ashleigh whether she liked it or not, so without arguing or taking the conversation further she went to one of the many boxes she had yet to unpack and grabbed a coat. "Let's go."

Cappie and Chris walked into Dobbler's shortly after unpacking at the Kappa Tau House and grabbed a table. Cappy's attention was immediately drawn to the blond at the bar while Chris babbled on about something.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"I can't believe you didn't tell Beaver. For two and a half years I've heard everything about these people, and they don't even know the most basic things about me. You're ignoring me again." Chris turned in the seat in the direction Cappie was staring. "So I take it that's her. That's Casey, right?"

"Yea, that's her. My only problem in life…"

Chris laughed. "Trust me pal, that's NOT your only problem in life….we could start with your love for Lyle Lovett songs. "

"I don't love them…I like them…" Cappie looked around hoping nobody heard the content of their conversation.

"Tell it to my stereo, you freak." Chris looked back at Casey. "If you keep staring at her like that she might get some more inspiration to make fun of you."

Cappie turned his stare to Chris instead. 'Even a little information in your hands is dangerous in your hands Chris."

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Casey sat at the bar in Dobbler's alone. Ashleigh had been asked to dance by some guy Casey was sure would turn out to be crazy. This had been a fun trip so far, they hadn't been there five minuets when Ashleigh had abandoned her with her lemon drop.

She laid her head on the bar. This was ridicules. Two and a half years, that's how long it had been since she had been on her own. It was amazing to think that within three weeks of coming to school she had met and fell for Cappy, then a few weeks after breaking up with him she had ended up with Evan. Maybe she just needed some time to herself.

"Hi!" Casey jumped at the greeting as girl with long dark brown hair and kind eyes practically threw herself into the seat next to her.

"Hi….Can I help you with something." Casey moved her head, still on the bar, to face the girl.

"No…but maybe I can help you." The girl smiled warmer and more sincere than Casey had seen in anyone but…in a long time. "Your name's Casey, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"Cap talks about you all the time. I just wanted to meet you face to face and tell you that…it's not all your fault."

Casey sat up and fully took in the girl. This wasn't Cappie's usual type. Sure she was pretty, but instead of the usual low cut pants and high cut shirts, she wore a thick practical sweater and dark blue jeans. She also had an air of intelligence about her, like she might study on Friday night. "You know Cappie?"

"In ways you never will…but then again you also know him in ways I sure as hell never will." The girl turned to the bar tender. "Can I have another beer…and send another to the guy I came in with…He'll be mad enough at me when he gets back from the bathroom, I don't need him harp'n because his alcohol has run down…So Casey as I was saying…"

"You seem to have a lot of privileged information…" Who did this girl think she was any way?

"Well, all the guys go to Cappie for help and support. Didn't you ever think that maybe he had someone on the sidelines that he might go to when he's down and out?" The girl took a deep swig of the beer the bartender had just set down. She looked back at Casey again surprised. "Don't tell me he didn't ever tell about his best friend Chris?"

"Of course he did. Chris is his best friend from home. They grew up together. He's at some University think tank working with some world famous physicist."

"Well you got it mostly right" The girl turned on her stool to fully face Casey and held out her hand. "Christina Davidson."

"Christina?" Casey took the hand apprehensively.

"Chris." Christina shrugged the minor clarification.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay so Ashleigh's ex-boyfriends name is Travis, not Trevor…oops. I'll try to be more in sync with show.**

Chris was a girl. Chris was a girl? How had Casey never realized this? All that time she and Cappie were together she never once thought that the Chris he mentioned in every story about home could possibly be a girl. Christina was the one who had jumped out of Cappy's moving car in an attempt to protest his music. Christina was the one who had gone with Cappie to see the Matrix three times in a row for four consecutive Saturdays…Christina was defiantly NOT the Chris that Casey had pictured all this time.

Not that she minded Cappie having a girl friend…no not a girlfriend, a friend that's a girl. Why was this bothering her so much? She and Cappie had been over for such a long time…but after everything that had happened last semester… Did she still care about Cappie…?

Casey was pulled out of her thoughts with a sharp knock on her bedroom door. She looked up wearily and sighed at the sight of her least favorite person in the whole world. "What can I do for you Rebecca?"

"I just received the e-mail you sent me…informing me that I could no longer live in the house this Semester. What are you playing at Casey?" Rebecca clicked the toe of her shoe expectantly has she held herself up with the hand on her hip.

Casey wanted nothing more than to slam the door in her face, but instead she put on her best fake smile and answered the insolent girl calmly. "Rebecca there are too many upperclassmen girls who want to live in the house for me to allow you to stay here. I'm sorry but they do have seniority. Franny made a mistake last semester playing favorites, and allowing you to step all over our tried and true rules. Come next year, baring that you have the grades and community service hours, you should feel free to apply to live in the house again."

"This isn't fair. You're still hung up on that Evan thing and you're using your new power to continue your tirade against me." Rebecca was whining now, and clearly realizing that unlike Franny there was no way she could have Casey under her thumb.

"No. What isn't fair is that one girl who deserved to live in the house last year didn't get to because you insisted in moving in here. My decision on this matter is final, but if this in anyway means that you won't be staying with the ZBZ's this semester, you should know you have my blessing…"

"You can't push me out of this Sorority Casey."

"Not pushing little sister…just nudging…" Casey smiled again, this time sincerely, as Rebecca turned on her heal and walked back down the hall indignantly. Maybe Casey could win this battle this semester….

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"I can't believe you did that Chris!" Cappie plopped down on his bed next to his best friend shortly after they returned from Dobbler's. He really didn't know whether to punch her or hug her.

"Chill out Cap. Casey was cool…after the initial shock of realizing that your best buddy happened to have two x-chromosomes. Speaking of buddy's, when to I get to meet this Rusty I've heard so much about?" Chris stood up and went over to her suitcase and began searching for something.

"What did you say to her anyway?" Cappie's mind flashed to all the things Chris had seen him do in the last fifteen years.

"Not much…we talked about school a little…she asked questions about you which I evaded as much as possible, I told her how things ended with you two wasn't all her fault…" Chris continued to dig through the bag as she spoke.

"What!"

"I didn't explain it any further than that…It's all part of my master plan Cap. Don't look at me like that."

Cappie fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "You didn't even see me, how do you know what look I gave you."

"You always get the same look when I exasperate you. Calm down Capperz, don't forget that I have a 160 I.Q. and can fix the engine of any car blind folded in under six minuets."

"That has yet to be fully proven…Ouch!" Something round and hard landed on his chest, and he reached down, and picked it up to examine it. "Your worry stone? I'm not following…"

"You gave that to me six years ago remember? I had just broken up with that guy, what was his name…?"

"Mike."

"Right, Mike. Anyway, we went with a couple other people to the Renaissance fair the next day. I was all afraid that he was going to go around telling people things that weren't true about me and that I would never find someone and a whole bunch of other crap that whiny fifteen year olds thing of, and out of nowhere you abandon me in front of the fruit ice stand for like an hour…" Chris sat back down on the bed and laid back next to Cappie, comfortable with his brother like position in her life.

"It was ten minuets tops."

"Sure it was…but so when you can back you gave me this small green polished stone and told me that whenever I was worried or upset I should just rub the stone and know that none of my problems were so bad that they couldn't be fixed once I quit stressing myself out." Chris turned her head away from the ceiling to face him, and Cappie did the same. "This stone got me through the SAT's, four breakups, the death of my cat, and the whole of last semester. It, along with my now constant presence, will get you through this. If you love Casey as much as you say you do, hook or by crook, I will make sure you get her back."

Cappie nodded and turned back to the ceiling, and closed his eyes. Chris smiled triumphantly and did the same. They laid there for a good long while, enjoying the presence of the friendship that had carried them through two completely different, but no less jarring childhoods.

Cappie's eyes opened suddenly in a moment of clarity. "Wait did you just say constant presence? What about Princeton…Astrophysics…"

"I'm transferring to Cyprus Rhodes this semester Cappie."

He sat up and turned to stare at her in disbelief. "No."

"Yes. I'm sorry but this decision was made without you…my parents are sending my stuff out here later this week." Chris kept her eyes closed and tried not to think of the face Cappie was most certainly making right now.

"You can't do this to yourself just because I've been in a bad way Chris. That guy, Doctor Noble, he's been your hero since middle school, and you were working with him…" Cappie wanted to shake her hard, it was just like Christina to come running if she thought he was in trouble.

Chris tried not to flinch when Cappie mentioned her former mentor's name "Once again calm down Cap. I didn't make this decision just because you have been having a hard time with Casey. If that was the case I would have been here a year and a half ago."

"Chris…?"

"Cappie, did you ever think that maybe I might need you right now as much as you so obviously need me? That maybe in the last few months I've been going through some stuff, and while I didn't want to talk to you about it, just hearing your voice over the phone was enough to bring me back to reality. This choice of a change of venue is the right one. CRU is smaller than Princeton, and it will give me a chance to really enjoy my last few years of school. I need that right now."

Cappie looked at her concerned, Chris was usually bold and forth coming with her problems. His mind reverted back to the many times she had mentioned the symptoms of PMS to him in everyday conversation. So what was she hiding now? What had brought her to Cyprus Rhodes looking to get away from the stress and hard work she had once loved?

"Cappie, stop staring, and tell me more about Casey…from what saw tonight she's everything you mentioned before and more."

**AN: Okay, so I hope it's clear to everyone that Chris and Cappie will not be a couple, ever; their just best friends who also happen to be of opposite sexes. Chris wants nothing more than to help Cappie get back together with Casey, and figure out her own drama. I hope you all are enjoying it so far, please drop me a line and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chris looked around the empty apartment and sighed. The university had put up the money for the place in an effort to make sure Chris would enjoy her stay at CRU enough to stay, possibly even through graduate school.

Chris was used to being pursued by colleges and universities; beginning in her sophomore year of high school places of higher learning had become something of a nuisance in her life, something for she and Cappie to mock mercilessly. It didn't help that she had already made up her mind by that point; she would go wherever Dr. Noble was, and he had stationed himself and his research at Princeton University. But it was time for a new goal now, a path forged without real guidance, but more importantly a path forged with the support of the only person who really understood that her genius was not just a gift but a curse.

Looking out her living room window on to the empty parking lot, and a little further on the science building of CRU, Chris knew that the vast majority of her time would not be spend in this apartment, but at the comfortable lived in environment of Kappa Tau. Almost on cue Chris's cell phone rang and she smiled at the name displayed on the screen.

"Hey you... Yea I just got here…it's dismal." She walked over and opened the refrigerator as she and Cappie spoke. The smell of rotten eggs almost knocked her over, and she made a mental note to buy a box of backing soda when she had the chance. "Yea, coffee sounds good….Has he gotten over the fact that I'm a girl yet?...Okay, Fifteen minuets….bye."

Chris glanced in the bedroom quickly before grabbing her purse off the counter and hurrying out, thankful to have a reason to escape already.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Cappie and Beaver waited for Chris at the usual coffee shop in the Quad. Beaver laid with his head on the table as Cappie smiled unabashed at everyone around him.

"Why are we up again?" Beaver asked without lifting his head.

"Carpe Diem Beaver! It's a new day, and I don't want Chris to think that all I do here is party and cause trouble…"

"But that is all you do." Beaver lifted his head and looked in the now empty cup sitting in front of him. "I need more coffee…" he said getting up.

"Well if it isn't drunk and drunker!" Casey walked up to the table and greeted them cheerfully. "So Cappie, I met your friend Chris last night."

Cappie nodded thoughtfully. "She's a trip isn't she?"

"She's a she…which was the biggest surprise of the evening. Why didn't you tell me that before?" Casey pulled out the seat across from him and sat down, determined to get to the bottom of this story.

"Its part of my charm…I'm a man of mystery after all." Cappie leaned back in his chair and looked up at the sun. "So how's old Evan?"

Casey did her best not to flinch. "I hear he's fine. I wouldn't be surprised if news of he and Rebecca's engagement hits the press soon."

Now it was Cappie's turn to flinch. Rebecca, Casey didn't know yet, if she did she wouldn't be sitting here with him now. "Now won't they produce the future captains of industry, or even more terrifying a future president?"

"Not on this campus…so how long is Chris staying?" Cappie looked at Casey surprised, why was she so interested in Chris? Was there the slightest chance she might be jealous?

"She's actually transferring here…Princeton just wasn't enough to hold her interest I guess, she needed some more fun."

Casey nodded and looked at him intensely wondering if it could ever work with them again. She wouldn't tell him that…hell she wasn't even convinced yet…

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Chris was just turning the corner to the coffee shop when she heard one of her favorite sounds in the world. Cappie was laughing, really laughing, something she hadn't heard in a long time. She peeked around the corner and spotted Cappie sitting alone at a table for four with Casey. _Wow_, she thought, _even from here you can see the love between those two, after everything…_

"Spying?" Chris jumped as Beaver walked up next to her and pulled her out of her trance.

"No…just observing what I have to work with." Chris turned to Beaver and smiled. "They look cute together."

Beaver looked at her confused. "You're not into Cap?"

Chris laughed. "No Beaver. That ship sail a long long time ago…probably around the time I saw him throw up Sushi and Yoo-hoo into a bag of Doritos. Not one of his better ideas…"

Beaver looked at her like she was crazy. Ever since meeting Cappie had yet to meet a girl outside of the ZBZ's who weren't madly in love with him. This was new, and kinda interesting…

"So I was thinking I might need some help…"Chris looked at Beaver expectantly. He however was lost in thought. "Beaver?!"

"What? Sorry." Beaver came into focus and wondered how he had managed to down another cup of coffee that quickly.

"I was just saying that while Cappie gave me permission to meddle in his life, in hopes of getting Casey back, I don't think it's a good idea for him to know exactly how I'm going about it….he tends to mess up master plans…especially his own…."

"Like the whole midterm thing…with his paper with Casey?" Beaver was starting to catch on.

"Exactly. So I thought I could use someone on the inside, but still removed from the situation. I thought about that guy Rusty, but I really don't need Casey mad at me in the future for using her brother in my plot." Chris looked back at Cappie as Casey stood up from the table and said goodbye. He looked almost tranquil. "Beaver I want you too help me out, okay? Maybe we could end up being friends in the process?"

A friend that's a girl? Beaver didn't know if that would work out at all, but he found himself nodding anyway…this girl was defiantly different from any he had ever come in contact with.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"Hey! You're late!" Cappie announced in mock annoyance as Chris and Beaver sat down at the table, Chris taking the Seat Casey had formerly been sitting in.

"I got lost…new campus and all."

Cappie looked at her suspiciously "You never get lost…"

"Never say never…So what's good here?" Chris smiled at Cappie in a way that said he should just move on, a trick she had learned from him.

"Muffins." Beaver said without thinking. "I'll get you one…and a coffee."

Chris turned to him a little surprised and smiled. This guy was defiantly not like the people she knew at Princeton…far less pretentious. "Thanks"

"So Chris, you never did tell me what your parents said when you told them you wanted to transfer…" Cappie though back to the image of Chris's parents. Her father was a high powered business man, and her mother a high powered member of their local DAR; the complete opposites of his own parents. He had always loved them, they treated him well and seemed to respect his parent's choices whether they believed in them or not. Cappie new how proud Chris's parents were of her accomplishments, this transfer had almost certainly put a damper in their plans for their daughter.

Suddenly Chris felt bad, she had her own reasons for transferring to CRU, but never the less her parents had blamed Cappie. "It was the first time I ever heard your name used as a curse word…"

"And the chances they'll forgive me are?"

"I'm working on them Cap…they know you didn't push for this, but their disappointed and trying very very hard not to put the blame where it belongs…"

Cappie nodded and wondered again what exactly it was that had scared Chris away from Princeton. Chris and her parents had been one of the few stabilizing influences in his life since before kindergarten, no matter where he parents had moved him and disrupted his life, the Davidson's had always stayed right where he left him, willing to welcome him back with open arms. He even moved in with them for two years in high school so he could graduate with his friends.

"It's really not that big a deal Cap, I'll be fine…I'll set the Astrophysics world on fire just like we always planned, I'm just going to do it from CRU, with you backing me up." Beaver came back to the table just then, forcing the two friends to turn to a lighter note. "So, how comfy is the couch at Kappa Tau, cause my Apartment sucks!"


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm really glad you all seem to like this story so far. I really like writing it. I'm trying my best to get even the small facts from the show if possible. Please keep reviewing; it's the only way for me to judge how the story is progressing.

Rusty walked down the hall of the Science building after his Physics class, on the Wednesday after the semester began, feeling relieved. His professor this semester was far less intimidating that Dr. Hastings had been, but it was still going to be a lot of work. Why did he want to be an engineer again?

Then he saw her, at the end of the hall talking to a professor like they were old friends. Christina Davidson. He had know the name since well before coming to college, of course he would have never guessed that she was Cappie's Chris, the first girl ever to win the Cooney Award in Physics. She was a legend. And damn it if she wasn't pretty too. How in the world was he going to talk to her…ever?

No time like the present to try. Rusty gathered up his courage and walked up behind her just as she left the professor. "It's Chris, right?"

She turned around and looked at him as she walked; her face was kind but stern. "I'm sorry; I don't take on tutees until the third week of the semester."

"My name's Rusty, Cappie's…brother." That didn't usually sound that awkward, but here was a person who had known Cappie since before he _was_ Cappie.

Chris's face lit up. "Rusty! I've been waiting to meet you, Cappie's a big fan of your's."

"The feelings mutual…he's really helped me out a lot."

"So I hear you're into the Polymer Sciences…interesting field." The two turned a corner as they walked. "I looked in to it for a while, but space is really my thing."

"I know…"

Chris stopped out side a door to one of the lecture halls, forcing Rusty to stop as well. "Listen I have to go, I'm the T.A. in this class, but I would really love to spend more time talking with you. I'm sure I'll see you at the Kappa Tau house soon."

"Oh. Okay. Bye." Rusty turned to leave, a little disappointed.

"Bye! Oh and Rusty," He turned back to look at her as he left. "The whole tutee thing doesn't apply to you. If you need help all you need to do is ask."

With one final smile she was gone, leaving the poor guy awe struck as he left the building. Science freak girls were not supposed to be like her…normal and down to earth. They were supposed to be frazzled and annoyed with all the male scientists because of their domination in the field.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The door of the Kappa Tau house almost swung off its hinges as Cappie burst through it later that day. This semester was going to be nothing if not interesting, that was for sure. Math…it would be his downfall…some how in all his time at CRU he had not been a math major…that he remembered anyway. Why? Because one could not talk his way out of math, the answer was right or wrong, without any gray area to play in. Cappie loved the gray areas, double meanings, and general confusions of the world. Static things like math and love terrified him. How in the holy hell did Chris live in this world so easily?

Cappie was being forced to take math, and not just any math, Differential Calculus. Words that struck horror into the hearts of Kappa Tau's everywhere… Chris would be able to help, he knew that, but still he prided himself on being able to talk his way out of anything, and this was one thing he could NOT talk his way out of.

No sooner had he slammed the door behind him and thrown his bag on the couch, than did the door bell ring. Trudging to the door, he opened it to find one of his favorite surprises, the other terror in his life. "Hey Case!"

"Cap…" she looked a little taken aback that he had been there; almost as if she planned on knocking then leaving. "I'm looking for one of my bracelets, I haven't seen it in I don't know how long…it's a green bangle…I kind of need it for a costume…for a social. Have you seen it?"

"Nice job trying to hide your desperate need to see your first love…" Cappie smirked as he ushered her through the door.

"Is Jonathan Taylor Thomas here?" She couldn't help cracking a smile at Cappie's fake pout. "Seriously Cappie, have you seen it?"

"Okay, sit on the couch and I'll run upstairs and look for it." Casey nodded and sat down as Cappie ran up the stairs in twos too his room.

If the bracelet, which he wasn't even sure existed, was anywhere it would be in the box buried on the top shelf of his closet full of the things that reminded him of Casey. He took it down reverently, set it on the bed, and began digging through all his memories. There were the three t-shirts she had stolen from him to wear that still had her smell on them, the plastic container that had held their first shared piece of pie (at least he thought it was the first…at one time his room had been littered with pie plates), and a bunch of random pieces of jewelry and knickknacks she had left.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Downstairs Casey was sitting on the couch uncomfortably; of course there was no bracelet. She didn't even know why she was here, once minuet she had been walking back to the ZBZ house after class thinking about what a mistake Evan had been, and wondering why she had even taken him back…Cappie had never hurt her like that. In fact there had never been a point in their whole relationship, apart from the days before she ended it, when she had stayed up nights wondering if they should be together. She hadn't even looked at another guy the whole time they were together. But with Evan it had been different; she had strayed from him…to Cappie.

The sound of the door to the house opening without a bell jarred her from her thoughts, and she turned around quickly expecting to see one of the guys walk in; Wade, maybe Beaver. Instead she saw Chris. Something burned in her, once she had felt comfortable enough here to come in without the bell, but certainly not right away…What gave Chris the right to do it after four days?

"Hi Casey!" Chris's face lit up when she noticed Casey sitting there, almost as if it had made her whole day. "How are you?"

"I'm great." Casey quickly covered her hesitance with a smile. "How do you like CRU?"

"It's great. Everyone's been really great; it's a really nice chance of pace." Casey nodded with fake understanding. "So Cappie called me a little while ago…something about a math class…have you seen him?"

"He's upstairs looking for a bracelet for me…I'm a little clumsy with them, I thought I might have left it here." Casey explained casually.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's up there. The Golden Fleece could be hidden up there and he would never know it with the way he cleans…" Chris sat down on the opposite end of the couch "Did he ever tell you that he lived with us for a couple of years in High school?"

That explained the comfort level. "There are a lot of things he never told me." Casey whispered quietly.

"Well the summer after Graduation we went to clean out his room in my parent's house and ended up using shovels to move most of it…" Chris sensed Casey's discomfort. "Cappie's been like a brother to me, and I have to say that I never saw him happier than when he came home for Christmas break freshman year talking about Casey Cartwright. Don't blush; you really made an impression on him… I just can't wait to see him that happy again."

Chris's reassuring smile and emphasis on the fact that it was Casey, not her, that had made Cappie so ecstatically happy, calmed Casey in a way she didn't really understand. She was starting to like Chris, against her will of course, but the feeling that the two might one day be friends, good friends, was seeping its way into her brain. "Hey, were you in a sorority back at Princeton?"

Chris full on laughed, causing Casey to shrink back a little. "I'm sorry, no, not unless you count the physics honorary…I might have, if I had had time." She moved a little closer to Casey on the couch, not in and imposing way, but simply to be clearer "I have nothing against sororities, really I don't. I've just lived in an Old Boys club so long, what with my field, and being close friends with only guys in high school, I just don't interact with girls so well. They tend to be a little catty, and even more indecisive. But hey, the second Kappa Tau starts inviting women to join I'll totally go Greek!"

Casey nodded with understanding. She had had enough cattiness in the last year to supply her for a long time. "Listen Chris, there are some girls here on campus who aren't as bad as others. My best friend Ashleigh for one….and me…I think. If you ever get sick of just being one of the boys, you should call me; we'll go shopping or hang out."

Chris smiled sincerely again, something that seemed a permanent fixture on her face but still seemed new every time she pulled it out. "I would really love that….we both know Cappie isn't king in the fashion department."

From there the conversation branched out, and continued at an alarmingly entertaining pace.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Cappie searched the box of Casey's things three times before determining that she had in fact completely made up the bracelet as an excuse to see him. He smiled inwardly and wondered whether it was Chris's sudden appearance at CRU that had sparked Casey's interest in him again. Quickly he packed up the box again and shoved it into his closet. He braced himself before opening the door to his room. He was going to play this cool, he didn't have the bracelet, sorry Case, no more jokes about her wanting to see him. There was no way he was going to scare her off again.

He turned the knob and cracked the door open slowly, and as he did he caught the sound of Casey laughing from downstairs. It might as well have been music, was she talking to Heath maybe? Or Wade? Beaver never made her laugh like that. Then there it was the unmistakable sound laughter with a slightly obnoxious cackle. Chris.

What could his ex-best friend have said about him to make Casey laugh like that? Ten thousand horrible stories about his childhood came to mind. No, Chris was helping him out with Casey. She wouldn't tell her anything too embarrassing would she? She had to realize that he had just as much ammunition on her, but threats and stories didn't work on Chris, they never had…

He had to suck it up and go down there, if only to stop the story telling from continuing. He walked down the stairs slowly, pressing himself against the wall so they couldn't see him, in hopes of catching part of their conversation…

Chris's voice wafted up to his place on the stairs. "…so the reptile guy has no idea what to do, he's panicking and screaming for someone to call security or whoever, and I'm still standing on this rock in the in the crocodile exhibit, with these two huge monsters staring at me like I'm a snack."

"I would have screamed." Casey said trying to suppress a laugh at the ridicules situation.

"I wanted too, so bad. But Cappie kept his wits. The Reptile guy looked like he was gonna pass out, but Cappie told me to stay calm, and walked to the other side of the exhibit and threw his backpack and skateboard in really hard. The Crocodiles turned around at the noise and went after them, and two security guards pulled me out by my arm pits."

"Wow, Cappie saved you life." Casey sounded genuinely impressed. Cappie shook his head and chastised himself for thinking Chris would say something to make him look bad to Casey.

"It wasn't the only time, but what I seem to have fail to mention is that most of these near death experiences also stemmed form Cappie's great ideas… Like the time..."

Cappie chose this particular moment to walk out from behind the wall of the stairs and put on his best cocky smile "Hey Chris, were you two ladies talkin' about me?"

"Chris was just telling me what a hero you are Cap." Casey said standing up.

Cappie's smile turned genuine as he walked with her to the door. "That's me, a regular John Wayne. Sorry I couldn't find your bracelet."

"That's okay." Casey said stepping through the door. "This was worth it anyway."

The door closed leaving Cappie with a dumb struck smile on his face, still standing there.

Chris didn't bother suppressing a mocking laugh at him. "Okay Han Solo, lets talk math…yay!"


	5. Chapter 5

After helping Cappie get started with his Calculus, help he really didn't need, Chris stayed over at the Kappa Tau house for dinner (old Chinese food and stale beer) and crashed in Cappie's room like she had every other night that week. Initially the guys in the house had thought it weird, the idea of having a girl sleep in your room without there being any extra curricular activities, but Cappie and Chris had done it since childhood, and eventually most of the brothers moved on. The only person who had any real problem with it was Beaver, but since he really didn't have a good reason for feeling that way, and didn't want to bring it up, he just stewed in the awkward feeling.

Beaver lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, straining his ears to hear anything suspicious coming from Cappie's room. He heard nothing, and in a way that just frustrated him more. At about 1 am he heard the sound of a door opening down the hall, and feet that were defiantly not male walk down the stairs. A moment later after much internal battle, he followed, and entered the now dimly lit kitchen hoping to run into one of Wade's girls.

"Hi Beaver." No luck, there was Chris holding up a carton of milk to her nose to smell. She shook her head disapprovingly and began dumping the sour milk down the drain. "You wouldn't happen to have a lemon would you?"

"A lemon?" Beaver moved further into the room, eventually picking one of the counters to jump up and sit on.

"To grind in the garbage disposal…to cut the smell of the milk…" Chris turned away from the sink with an expression that simply said 'Men'. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"I wasn't sleeping."

She nodded, and opened the cabinet above the stove. "I am going grocery shopping for you guys tomorrow…you can't all live on take out. Oh! Score! An unopened sleeve of crackers, and cheese whiz with a perfectly respectable expiration date!"

Chris did a little dance and Beaver couldn't help but laugh. Finally gathering his voice he asked "So why are you up at all hours of the night?"

"A fine multitude of reasons actually…Cappie keeps invading my side of the bed which means I have to keep pushing him back" She sent him a look as if this was comparable to kicking a puppy "… that Chinese food was probably left over from the sour milk dynasty…and the Tuttle is out tonight."

Beaver was too hung up on the fact that Chris _really_ was not into Cappie to respond to the last bit the way Chris has hoped. She was looking at him expectably when he realized, "Uh, what's the Tuttle?"

Chris began looking in vain for a clean plate. "The Tuttle…or 8P/Tuttle rather, is a comet. It's appearing tonight and I convinced Heath to pull this crusty old telescope out of the attic for me so I can see it." Giving up her search, she jumped onto the counter across from Beaver and began eating the crackers right out of the sleeve. "Want some?"

Beaver took her offering without thinking, "When can you see it?"

"um…" Chris thought for a moment while she chewed, "Probably for the next couple of days, the best time's around 2, when everything is closed down and dark…I just have a thing about watching comets on their first night."

A girl with a thing about comets…it had been a long time since Beaver had been around an intelligent pretty girl, who actually seemed to want to talk to him. "Really? Why?"

Chris smiled at his interest. "When I was twelve I read this article that the comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle, which was discovered by the guy who discovered our comet, was coming past earth for the first time in 33 years. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, the idea that something's orbit could be so big that it only came close enough to see every three decades. So I begged my dad to take us camping on the weekend it was supposed to show up. He must have thought I was crazy, it was the middle of the school year, the dead of winter…but I was pretty instant."

Beaver's mind filled with her voice over and over '_our comet'._ "So he took you then?"

"Yea, we left on that Friday right after school got out. We brought along a couple of my friends too…who was there?" She asked herself trying to remember "Katie something, John Austen, and Cappie…Anyway, I had taken some of my savings and bought this plastic telescope, and when we got to the camp ground I spent a good four hours setting it up while everyone else put up the tents and got mad at me for not helping out…I'm sorry am I boring you?" Chris had just realized how long her story was getting, Beaver looked a little far off, and she knew she had a tendency to babble.

The truth was Beaver was enthralled. "No go ahead."

"You sure?" He nodded. "Alright, so the comet wasn't even supposed to show up until the next night, and I spent all of that Saturday before hand running around giving everyone these facts about comets and space…and my friends ended up locking me the tent for awhile. So that night we all stayed up really late waiting for this comet to show up, taking turns looking through the telescope and drinking cocoa, but as it got later and later everyone got tired and one by one went to bed. Eventually it was just Cap and I standing out there staring at the sky.

Beaver's stomach dropped. "So this is one of those, stories where you and Cappie had an amazing life experience together?"

Chris ate one last cracker and tied off the sleeve, "Nope, Cappie lasted about fifteen more minuets and went to bed too. But I wouldn't give up. Then around three, when I was almost convinced all hope was there it was right where it was supposed to be." She smiled remembering. "It was amazing…with the naked eye it looked like this fast teeny tiny moving star, but through the telescope I could see this bright center, the nucleus, and its tail…it was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Wow, that's some story."

"Well it's not getting stuck in a crocodile exhibit, but it is why I went into Astrophysics. I just had to know what made those comets orbit like that. Of course now I rarely work with comets…" Chris looked at the clock on the stove. "So what do ya say, want to check out the Tuttle with me? I'll make you some Hot cocoa…"

"Well, I'm up anyway." He said, trying to sound nonchalant.

She pushed his arm lightly as she went about boiling water. "Well don't sound so excited."

Over an hour later they were still standing outside looking through the telescope at the Tuttle, and chatting about random things. Chris had this way of making even the most mundane facts about physics seem amazingly interesting, and Beaver found himself wondering what she was getting out of him being there.

Chris yawned looked back up at the stars with admiration. "You know, the Tuttle only comes around every fourteen years."

Beaver looked through the scope again and back at her "That's pretty cool."

"You know what that means right?"

He thought for a minuet. It could mean anything; Chris's logic was something he had yet to conquer. "Nope."

"It means that we'll have to come back here in 14 years too watch it again." If Chris hadn't still been staring at the sky she would have seen the look of joy mix with panic that washed over Beavers face. " We better get back up to bed now though, I've got to help teach a class at 9 tomorrow, and I'm sure you have some thing too…"

"Yea, I guess."

She carefully put the cap back on the lens of the telescope can began walking back inside; she stopped before walking through the door and turned around. "Thank you for staying out here with me Beaver. I had a really good time."

There was that genuine smile again. Beaver just shrugged and smiled casually. It wasn't until she had walked through the door and turned up the stairs that he was able to let out his breath and relax. He was in serious trouble here, sorority girls he could handle, but this…this was uncharted territory.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Chris tried to open the door to Cappie's room quietly, but when she did the light was already on and he was sitting on his bed reading a book.

"You're awake? You usually sleep like a log." She sat on the edge and began taking off her boots.

"Funny thing really, I woke up freezing. Seems some cruel soul came in here, stole all of my blankets and put them in the closet, then covered my face with shaving cream…" He didn't sound in the least bit phased.

"A subtle hint, you're getting scruffy. Why didn't you just go back to sleep after cleaning up?" She pulled the hair tie from her hair and let it fall loose, before getting in the other side of the bed, and putting their usual wall of pillows between them.

"I kept hearing the sound of you and Beaver laughing in the back yard. I guess you conned him into watching that hunk of rock with you?"

"I didn't con him! He wanted too."

"Beav's pretty nice guy." Cappie said nodding his head and putting his book under the bed, completely out of sight from anyone else.

"You know, I've never actually seen a comet with anyone else before…Ken wouldn't even come out with me … this was a really nice change."

"That's the first time you have willingly mentioned Dr. Kenneth Noble since we got here, what happen with you two Chris…I though you were…"

Chris held up her hand to indicate she didn't want him to say anymore. "I found out the hard way that he wasn't a nice guy."

With that Chris turned off the light and went to sleep, and Cappie did his best to do the same worrying a little about exactly what Chris meant when she said Noble wasn't a nice guy.

**AN: Okay so I know it's a little weird that Chris and Cappie are sharing a bed, but as I've said before this is completely innocent. I realize also that this chapter was all about Chris and Beaver's budding relationship, but I just watched a couple episodes of the show on my computer again, and he has really never had a story line…and he's kinda cute… So anyway I will get back to Casey and Cappie in the next chapter, but the Chris and Beaver relationship will be an on going thing…**


	6. Chapter 6

It had been over a week since the semester had started and Chris was finally settling into Cyprus Rhodes and feeling at home. She was feeling so at home in fact that she had actually decorated her apartment in a way that she like, and had slept there four of the last five nights. She and Casey had spoken several times each time making it more and more clear that they would be life long friends, with or without Cappie in the picture.

Chris was sitting in her living room grading papers one Saturday when a sharp knock on the door forced her out of her comfortable position. "Just a sec…"

She put the pile of papers in her room and went to the door, half expecting to see Rusty panicked about some assignment for the third time. To her surprise instead she came face to face with the other Cartwright. "Casey, Hi! …are you alright?

Casey looked a little peaked, almost as if she hadn't slept in days. "How do you get him out of your head? I know there are a million girls on campus I could ask about this but you're the only one who might have the answer…"

"Woo woo woo… come in, would you like some water or something, you look a little freaked."

Casey nodded and stepped through the door. Chris ushered her over too the couch and went to get her a glass of water. "Now what in the world has gotten you so worked up?"

Casey laughed, like the answer to that question was the most obvious thing ever. "CAPPIE!"

"Of course." Chris sat down on the ottoman across from Casey, fully ready to listen to whatever was about to come her way. "What brought this on?"

Casey took a sip of the water she was holding and tried to collect herself. "I don't know what my problem is, I was completely over him. Last year I was with Evan and I hardly ever thought about him. Then last semester…"

"I heard all about last semester."

"Yea… so then this semester I get here and I don't know…he's making me crazy." Casey put the water down on the side table and looked to Chris for advice.

Chris did her best not to laugh, it wasn't like she was some poster child for relationships. Hell, her last relationship had been with a man who was completely closed off emotionally. "Well you were obviously thinking about him last semester too…"

"After our midterm project I wondered if I should have gotten back with Cappie instead of accepting Evan's letters, but at the time it just seemed like…well…Evan was so stable and Cappie was, is, unpredictable. I guess I just thought that I needed something safer, something I could depend on."

Chris nodded. Cappie did come off as being slightly unreliable, something Chris herself had even fed into it once or twice, but each time Cappie had pulled through in a way that had just left her feeling stupid. "…And when Evan turned out to be just as undependable as you thought Cappie was, suddenly everything you thought went out the window."

"Pretty much."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What did Cappie ever do that made you think he was inconsistent in anyway? I mean, I know he's kinda rough around the edges, strange sense of humor, and way too smart for his own good, but what did he do that made you think he wouldn't always be there for you?" Chris leaned forward on her knees intent to hear how Casey would respond.

Casey didn't hesitate. "Well…he wasn't…there for me…"

Chris was taken aback. "What?"

"Cappie and I were great together, we had so much fun, and the whole time I never doubted once that he was really in it. It wasn't until the beginning of sophomore year when I was up for activation at ZBZ that we had any trouble." Casey looked down at her hands obviously still guilty over the issue. "They told me that Cappie wasn't right for me and that ZBZ's don't date Kappa Tau's… I was so mad. I wanted to quite right then…and I would have, but something was nagging at me."

"Cappie?"

"Cappie...the whole time we had been together, he never once said I love you. I was so scared I was throwing away a quintessential college experience for someone who didn't love me back…so I went to see him at the house…I was planning on just telling him what was happening, see what he thought and talk it out." Casey sighed and looked up. "I wasn't planning on breaking up with him that day…but I got there and he was just so…Cappie, flippant and sarcastic. I started telling him what they had said and he assumed I was breaking up with him, so I did, and I walked to the door and stopped for a second at the door. I wanted him to say 'wait, Casey I love you' or even just 'don't go'. But he didn't, so I left."

Suddenly everything made sense to Chris. "He didn't fight for you."

"No, he didn't. A few weeks later Franny set me up with Evan and everyone kept saying what a great couple we made and after awhile I believed them. Eventually I stopped pretending to have feelings for Evan and actually did." Casey took another sip of her water and looked at Chris intently. "I know it's my fault all these old feelings are back, I started this again last semester…then he said that thing about seeing himself with me in ten years…now with Evan gone…anyway, I kinda feel like I might need some time without someone…but Cappie is lodged inside my head and I can't get him out."

"I'm sorry to tell you this Casey, but there is no getting Cappie out of your head. Look at me; I'm his best friend, with no romantic ties what so ever and yet he is forever the voice inside my head…" Chris sighed and looked for something more helpful to say. "But I will say that there might be a better reason why you can't stop thinking about him."

Casey stood up and started pacing around the room. "You think I'm still in love with him."

"I think you think your still in love with him." Chris said watching as Casey started to get worked up again.

"I don't know what to think anymore…I tried to talk to Ashleigh about it, but she doesn't really get it. She's my best friend; don't get me wrong, but when it comes to complex relationships she isn't the best with advice."

"I'm not exactly a Rhode scholar on the matter either. My last relationship lasted a year and a half and ended when I found out exactly what it means for a man to be unreliable." Chris's smile grew weak at the thought. "But, you should know, no matter what advice anyone gives you, or how much your head tries to rationalize, it's going to be your heart that makes this decision for you."

Casey's hands went up to her face and she suppressed a scream of anxiety. Chris felt bad, knowing that she was doing the one thing Casey wanted, telling her what to do. But at least she knew now what Cappie had to do to get Casey back; he had to fight for her…how Chris was going to get him to do that was another story. After all, this was the man who started drinking at the mere thought of a lost cause.

Suddenly the sound of the phone ringing brought both girls out of their thoughts.

"It's him!" Casey gasped.

"What?" Chris said standing up and searching for her cell phone.

"Cap's got this psychic ability to know when someone's talking about him, it's him!"

"Relax, it's Beaver. Hold on a sec." Chris answered the phone. "Hey…yea, I'm good you?... that's good… sure I can…yea, I'll see you then….alright. Bye…" She hung up and turned back to Casey. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright…sorry I flipped." Casey picked up her purse awkwardly, as if she was trying to decide if it was time for her to leave.

"I wish I could be more help to you."

"No, you've been more help than you know Chris…my issues with Cappie just happen to rival those of Dawson and Joey…" Casey started to walk towards the door. "Anyway, I really need to get going, I've got some work to do for tomorrow."

"Yea, I'm meeting Beaver for dinner in an hour so I guess I should get ready too…"

"You've got a date with Beaver tonight?" Casey turned around looking a little surprised.

Chris laughed. "I'm not sure that I'd really call it a date, we're just going to hang out over dinner…that's why he called…"

"I would call that a date…Beaver's an interesting creature, but a nice guy, and you really deserve a nice guy Chris." Now was Casey's turn to be truly sincere.

"So do you Casey, so do you." With a final smile, Casey slipped through the door and Chris was left wondering what she really had with Beaver tonight was a date…which threw her into a slight tizzy.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Cappie was sitting on his bed doing his best to finish his calculus before class tomorrow. It was a feudal attempt given the image of the blond Cartwright that kept walking through his brain. He wondered what she was doing right that moment, was she thinking about him, it was doubtful to say the least…

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see a slightly green Beaver standing in his doorway. "You okay Beav?"

Beaver held himself up by the doorframe. "I think I just asked Chris out."

Cappie's face filled with surprise. "Did she say yes?"

"I think so."

Cappie laughed. "That's a good thing Beaver. When are you going out?"

"Dinner in an hour..." His face filled with panic. "What do I do now?"

"I'd shower if I were you…then put on some form of clothing…"

Beaver nodded and made his way back down the hall to the bathroom. Cappie was still laughing when his cell phone rang. "Chris!...Yea I heard…yes, I do think it's a date...no it's a good thing…well you like Beaver and he likes you…it'll be fine, you'll have fun…I promise…Okay…How am I supposed to know what color dress he would like?...Okay bye."

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Casey didn't know why she was doing this again. Her last trip to the Kappa Tau house had been awkward and uncomfortable, and ended up fueling her friendship with Chris rather than helping her figure out her relationship with Cappie. But her conversation with Chris a few hours earlier had sparked her to let her heart do the talking, and right now her heart was telling her to get her ass over to the Kappa Tau house and spend some time with Cappie. She rang the bell confidently, and didn't hesitate to ask for Cappie as soon as Wade answered the door. She was told he was up stairs and she wandered up on her own.

Cappie looked up when she knocked, and smiled. "Thank God, you're not Beaver"

"Umm yea…good for that…so what are you working on?" Casey stepped through the door and sat down on the bed.

Cappie looked a little surprised, yet intrigued by this sudden turn of events. "Calc…I kind off suck at it…"

"That can't be true…" Casey turned the book to look at it. "Umm…I know nothing about this…"

Cappie laughed. "So what's up Cas? Loose another bracelet?"

Casey smiled. "No, I just kind of wanted to hang out…and by the way…there was no bracelet…you were right…"

"I know."

Casey scooted back on the bed and leaned against the headboard. "This doesn't mean I want to get back together…we just used to be really good friends, even when we were together, and I just thought we could get back to that."

"Sounds easy enough…" Cappie closed his textbook and leaned back next to her. "So what did we do exactly when we were just hanging out before?"

"We talked a lot…we we're exactly truthful all the time…but we did talk…How about we try that truth thing now…?" Casey turned her head to face him.

"Sounds good too me." The way Cappie looked at her made her want to kiss him…probably not the best way to be 'just friends'.

"Great…first lets talk about what your doing taking Calculus…"

**AN: Okay, I'm trying to make my chapters a little longer, which means that it might take a little but longer for my chapters to come out (meaning 2-3 days instead or 1 or 2). Please keep reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry it's been so long, I wish I had a valid excuse, but I don't. Hopefully this chapter will make everyone happy. Things seem to progressing nicely...Review please!**

Beaver sat across from Chris, noticeably uncomfortable in the restaurant. They'd barely spoken since she sat down, and both were beginning to wonder why that had decided to do this in the first place. Chris didn't know why they were having so much trouble; they had spoken at length before…

"This is weird" Beaver finally said after five minuets of silence.

"Yea, it really really is" Chris agreed trying her best to sound reassuring at the same time.

"…why do you think that is?" Beaver fidgeted with his silverware on the table.

"Honestly?" Beaver nodded slightly concerned by what she might say. " Honestly, I think we're putting a little too much pressure on ourselves here…I don't know about you but I am certainly not a French restaurant kind of girl…I'm more of a hot dogs from a vender, walk in the park kind of person…"

Beaver stood up immediately, that was all he needed to hear. "You couldn't possibly know how glad I am to here that."

"Good. Lets go then." Chris followed Beaver out of the restaurant shaking her head, and laughing silently. It was cute how he had tried to impress her with the fancy restaurant and gentleman attitude, but Chris had just broken up with a born and bred snob, and the down to earth attitude Beaver usually had was much more to her taste.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"So what did you do over break?" Casey asked, breaking a short silence in the conversation that she and Cappie had been holding. "Or should I say who?"

"Ouch." Cappie said jokingly, trying to mask the fact that it did hurt a little how she thought of him.

"No really, what did you do?"

"Hung out with Chris mostly…she came and picked me up a couple of days after you and Rusty left. My parents have been off in a jungle somewhere, so I just hung out with her folk…who as it turns out kinda hate me right now."

"Really?" Casey couldn't imagine parents not liking Cappie. While he exuded the party mentality he had always had an amazing way of dealing with adults.

"They think I begged Chris to come here, to give up Princeton, and I guess I'm partly why she's here, but something else happened there that she wont tell me about." Cappie shook his head, perplexed at the thought.

"It's got to have something to do with that Dr. Noble guy. She was dating him and they broke up right?"

"Chris told you that?" Cappie looked extremely surprised when Casey nodded. "She was so embarrassed by that relationship, she said it was such a cliché, but she really thought they were in love."

"Any idea why they broke up?"

"She said something about him not being who she thought he was, but a simple breakup like that wouldn't push Chris out of Princeton like that…she's far to devoted to her work than that."

"I wonder what it was…" Casey said thoughtfully, slightly concerned for Chris, but relishing the feeling of being on Cappie's team again.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"Wow…" Beaver didn't know how else to respond to what Chris had just told him. "So did you tell anyone before you left?"

"I sent a letter to the administration, and another to a different scientist in the field, but I doubt anything will come of it. Ken's considered the best, they won't listen to me." Chris told him as they walked side by side through campus. She was having great time talking to him about everything, and had lost herself for a moment and explained the real reason she had left Princeton.

"Does Cappie know?"

Chris shook her head. "No, I'll tell him eventually, but right now he's got to work things out with Casey. You are the only person I've told."

Beaver nodded, and wondered to himself what about him made her trust him in a way no one else ever had. He stopped walking without warning. Chris turned around to look at him confused. "Are you okay?"

"Are you over him…Noble?"

Chris's face got softer than it had been already and she smiled. She had known Beaver eight days and already here he was asking her out, and worrying if she was over a past relationship. The rational part of her told her this was too fast, but everything else was screaming that she had known this was right since the had watched the comet together. "Yes…I had all break to process things. He made it easier for me, with all the lying… I'm completely over it."

"Good to know." Beaver said starting to walk again. So they continued their trip through the Quad silently, and comfortably. Moments later Chris was pleasantly surprised to feel the warm touch of Beaver's hand taking hers.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The sun peaked through the window of Cappie's room at seven the next morning and fell over the sleeping forms of Cappie and Casey. Cappie was the first to stir as the warmth of the light fell over his eyes. Rolling over he just sat and watched Casey sleep in a position that had to be anything but comfortable. They'd stayed up until all hours of the night talking about everything in the world, except them. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the clock; it wouldn't be fair to wake her now…Walking down stairs quietly in search of coffee he smelled something coming from the kitchen…something that actually smelled edible.

"Is this too thick?" Beaver's voice wafted through the living room. Cappie didn't think Beaver even knew there was such a thing as seven am.

"Umm…just a little, add a bit more water and stir it up again, then it'll be perfect." The second voice forced Cappie to stop. Chris was there at seven in the morning…and the only thing that could mean was that Chris had come home with Beaver after their date last night. Suddenly a surge of protectiveness came through Cappie. Chris might as well have been his sister…and it was not cool for a guy's frat brothers to take advantage of his sister. Cappie stalked in to the kitchen angrily without saying a word.

Beaver was at the counter stirring what looked like pancake batter. "Hey Cap."

Chris turned around from her place at the stove and smiled at him warmly "Morning sunshine! You look like hell."

Cappie grunted and made his way over to the full coffee pot, pushing Beaver slightly as he walked by. _Just wait and see what happens after Chris is gone…_ he thought as he poured himself a cup of the brown liquid. "I was up all night talking to Casey."

"We know. We heard you." Chris said handing him a plate filled with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. "We got in at about ten and come up to see you, but when we heard Casey we just came back down here and watched a movie."

Didn't respond, he just sat on the counter coolly and ate his breakfast. Beaver looked at Chris questioningly, thrown for a loop by Cappie's behavior. Chris read him like a book, and continued the story as if nothing had stopped her except the flipping of bacon. "So anyway, by the time the movie was over it was pretty late and I didn't feel up to walking across campus alone so I crashed here. By the way that couch may be comfortable when your drunk, but sleeping on it sober is a bad idea…next time I'm kicking Casey out of your room so I can have a bed…"

Cappie looked up at Beaver, almost as if he needed final confirmation that this was in fact the way things had happened. Beaver just shrugged and Cappie's demeanor changed instantly. "So why are you two up now?"

"Like I said, I couldn't sleep, so after sitting around here since five watching cartoons, I borrowed your car and went to the store. Then I got back and I was starving so I woke up Beaver and we decided to make breakfast for everyone." Chris finished and Cappie looked at her oddly for a second before turning around on the counter and opening the cupboard closest to him.

"You bought us food."

"You can't keep living on cup-o-soup and slim jims Capperz, and since I plan on spending time here, I insist that you keep real food in the house, even if I have to buy it for you…Is Casey still asleep?"

"Yea, we were up pretty late…" Suddenly Cappie got shy at the concept and went about eating his food, hoping they wouldn't ask anything else.

"We know…go get her up so she can have some breakfast and get back to the ZBZ house before anyone notices." Beaver said taking Cappie's plate from his hands.

Cappie looked at the two of them confused. "Are you saying she would be ashamed to be seen here?"

Chris laughed. "What we're saying is that we know what will happen if the guys find out she spent the night here, no matter how innocent it was, and you don't want her sisters to think less of her because of it do you?"

"No…but I don't see how what you did was any different." Cappie jumped down and started pouring Casey a cup of coffee too take with him to wake her up.

Beaver answered for her from behind the refrigerator door. "It's different because the guys are used to having Chris sleep over…and you and Casey don't exactly have a history of innocent nights together."

Cappie sighed heavily as he nodded and left the room feeling a little like he had just been parented by his best friends. He climbed the stairs carefully so as not to spill the coffee and opened the door to his room to find Casey sitting on the edge of the bed putting her hair in a ponytail.

"Hi" she smiled happily as she started to put on her shoes.

Cappie suddenly didn't know what to say other than "I brought you some coffee."

"Thanks…" Casey took the cup and sipped it before looking back at him. "Are you okay?"

"Chris and Beaver made breakfast…they thought you might want to leave before everyone got up."

"Chris is here?"

"She slept on the couch…nothing happened with her and Beaver last night." Cappie said this in a mechanical way, almost like he was afraid anything he said would make her leave again.

"Okaaaay. Cap…" Casey set the coffee cup down on the dresser and walked over to him with only one shoe on "Why are you acting so strange?"

"I'm not."

"Yea you are…." Suddenly it dawned on Casey "…I'm not ashamed to be here Cappie…I'm not. Everyone can think what they want, I don't care anymore. I think that last night is proof that we still have…something…potential."

"Potential or _potential_?" Cappie asked finally relaxing. Despite the fact that they hadn't talked about their relationship she had been thinking about it, and she thought there was a chance for them. Cappie was elated and doing what he could not to show it.

Casey laughed and pulled him into a hug. "Don't push it."

"Me? Never."

Casey grabbed her other shoe and the coffee cup. "Suuuurrrrrre. Now did you say something about breakfast? I'm starving." With that she walked out of the room and headed downstairs with Cappie following.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry It's been so long since I've updated...I should have guessed that Exams would get in the way of my writing time. Anyway, I'll try to be better over break. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

"So your date with Beaver went well."

"Yea, I guess. He's easy to talk to."

"Easier than me?"

"No one's easier for me to talk to than you."

"Awww Chris that is so touching! Ouch!"

Chris laughed manically as she held out a hand to help Cappie up off the ice where she had pushed him down. He stood up in a wobbly manner and looked around to make sure no one had seen him fall. The last thing he needed was to be known as the guy who fell at the ice skating rink.

"Don't whine Capperz, you're fine." Chris skated off in front of him and he hurried to catch up. Chris loved ice skating, it was one of her favorite things…and something she only asked him to do with her when she had something to tell him. Last time they had gone was when she wanted to tell him about dating Dr. Noble, and the time before that it was about going to Princeton.

"So I'm guessing that this little trip isn't about Beaver then?" Cappie said pulling her over to the side of the rink.

"No, but he was pretty persistent that I should tell you." Chris spun her self in a circle and tried to get her bearings before spilling her guts.

Cappie tried to hide the fact that he was a little hurt that Beaver already knew whatever it was she wanted to tell him. "So Beav already knows?"

Chris's face filled with guilt and she nodded. "I didn't mean to tell him…I had just been holding it in so long and our conversation was flowing so well… it just came out. I wanted to tell you first, really I did…"

"It's okay… I've just been worried about you…so it's good you're telling me now." Cappie opened the door to the penalty box and the two went in and sat down. "I assume this is about Noble."

"Yea…"

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Cappie looked at her cautiously and prayed he wouldn't need to take an impromptu trip to Princeton.

"Not physically… Cappie…he lied…"

"About?"

"Everything…well lots of things." Chris suddenly became very interested in her hands. "I put so much faith in him, even before I met him…and so much of it was untrue…"

"What exactly are you trying to say here?" Chris looked up at Cappie with tears in her eyes, and he put his arm around her pulling her close. His whole life Chris had been a rock, never faltering in her beliefs and confidence in the world around her, and it was killing him now to see the humiliation in her face caused by someone who had ruined that. "Did he lie about your relationship?"

"Yea, but that wasn't the worst part…that came after I found out exactly what kind of a man he was. His biggest lie was foundational to our relationship, our whole relationship, professional and romantic."

"What?"

"I feel so stupid; I should have seen it earlier. I mean, I was working with him everyday. But the way he did it was so subtle, only changing a few decimal numbers here and there."

Cappie thought back to all the things Chris had told him about Astrophysics through the years. "Aren't those small numbers pretty important in the long run?"

"Yea, they really really are. Just a small change in data can change the whole outcome of the scenario…Cappie he was changing data to fit his hypotheses. I was so confident in his ability that I never bothered to look over his data after our work was done; I just assumed that he was a true scientist…"

"How did you find out?"

"I was cleaning up his office at the apartment…It was a mess and I thought it would be a nice way to show him I cared…"

It was just the type of thing Chris would do. "For the record, you're always welcome to clean my room…"

Chris smile and rolled her eyes. "Anyway…I found a couple of his notebooks in his desk drawer, they were dated and labeled as being some of our bigger projects. I had seen these notebooks a hundred times…but their outcomes were completely different from what they were supposed to be. So being me…I compared them to the published data…"

"And he had changed a few numbers in each to make the hypothesis work." Cappie finished her thought and suddenly understood why Chris had left Princeton. She never could be part of anything dishonest. "Did you confront him?"

"No, I didn't know what he would do if I did; fire me, breakup with me, trash me to the rest of the academic community. Plus I just wasn't sure…so I reran a couple of experiments with another TA. The results almost matched the ones in the notebooks…and disproved his hypotheses." She sighed and rested her head on Cappie's shoulder. Cappie didn't know what to do with this information, but he did know that Chris had to be feeling humiliated for ever believing in Noble. What and ironic name for a man who was anything but…

"Tell me you turned him in."

"There isn't much I could do Cap. I sent a couple copies of the notebooks and my findings to various boards and scientists, but Ken is so well respected…"

Cappie nodded, mentally slapping himself knowing that she would do everything she could to fix the situation. "What did you say to him anyway…how did you tell him you were leaving?"

Chris laughed uncomfortably. "I was terrified about how to break up with him…how to tell him I knew about all his lies. I told him I was flying home to see my parents for a couple days during Thanksgiving, but I got to the airport and realized I was running away from my problems. I decided to go back and confront him, right then. I was so determined that I practically ran up the stairs to the apartment, I calmed my self down and told myself to be an adult, opened the door…and there he was with a blond freshman from his introductory physics class…not studying…"

Cappie's hatred for the man rose to a new level, and he had to suppress the urge to punch something. It wouldn't be the first time he had tried to physically harm one of Chris's ex's. Suddenly the idea that that might one day be Beaver crossed his mind and knew it was time to grow up and act like an adult and not a overprotective brother. "What did you do?"

"I laughed. The situation was classic…a perfect ending really. He stood up and tried to tell me that it wasn't what it looked like and I just handed him the folder with the notebook and research in it and left. I sent out my application for transferring the next day, and I stayed with a friend for the rest of the semester."

"Weren't you in his class, and one of his TA's?"

"Yea, and it was awkward, but I made it through knowing that soon I would be home watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and eating mint chocolate Oreos with my best friend."

"Why didn't you tell your parents?"

Chris looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "They didn't know Ken and I were together, and it was a crucial part of the story…plus it would mean admitting to them that I was wrong."

"And to them you are infallible." Cappie said jokingly. The two sat in silence for a few moments longer, looking out over the ice as a father tried to teach his young daughter in a purple at how to skate.

"I want that someday Cap…I was a fool to think that I could find it with Ken…" Chris said softly as the little girl fell and her father picked her up lovingly.

"Yea…but you'll still find it. Maybe you already have." Cappie could see Beaver out there with kids almost as clearly as he could see himself…

"I'm not sure about Beaver and I yet, it's a little soon. But you and Casey are a sure thing in my mind. You'll be an amazing father Cappie…you know how not to raise a child, and that's almost as good as knowing how."

Cappie stood up and opened the door to the penalty box. "What do you say we call Casey and Bev and go have some coffee together?"

Chris smiled. "Sure."

As they skated back across the rink to the exit Cappie finally saw the sparkle in Chris's eye that had been missing since last summer. It was almost as if the weight she had been carrying was gone simply through telling him the whole story. It was moments like this that Cappie remembered why it was they had stayed so close for so long, they were more than just friends, they were family.

"You know what's weird?" Chris said stepping off the ice and sitting down on a bench to take off her skates.

"Lime green Jell-O."

"Yes, but I was thinking of something else."

"What?"

"In just a few years, assuming that we don't monumentally screw up, we'll each be married and having kids." Chris said cheerfully, with a renewed spirit.

Cappie sat down on the bench across from her and tried to take of his skate without untying it. "Okay, enough future talk Chris, it's freaking me out."

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"You ice skate?" Casey asked, semi mockingly from across the table at the coffee cart. The situation felt comfortable and she was glad to be back in a place where she and Cappie could just talk.

Cappie nodded. "Only with Chris though…for some reason it's like therapy for her."

"So I could never convince you to go with me?"

"It depends what your bargaining chip is." There it was Cappie's signature mischievous smile. A second later his head swung around at the sound of a loud squeal coming from the Coffee Cart where Chris and Beaver were standing. Chris had dissolved into a fit of laughter because of something Beaver had said, and he was just standing there looking proud of himself. "They look happy."

"And you look concerned. Is there some reason you don't want Chris and Beav together?" Casey had thought all of her jealousy was gone, but there it was again ever so slightly.

"No...Not really…I'm just worried that she's gonna get herself hurt again. She's like my sister, ya know. And we've both been through so much the past year, she really doesn't need to go through another loss…And I like Beav, I don't want to loose him as a friend."

"You won't." As she said this the two came back as if on cue and sat down, Chris was still laughing as she set her coffee down on the table and looked at Cappie smiling. Casey looked around the table and felt it again, the same feeling she had felt at breakfast after spending the night at the Kappa Tau house, a sense of home, belonging…

"Hi Cappie!" And in a second it was gone.

"Rebecca...nice to see you again." Cappie said obviously uncomfortable.

"It really is amazing we haven't seen each other before now and here I find you chatting it up with my Favorite Sorority President."

Casey looked down at her coffee. "Yes it is a surprise." She muttered.

"I'm afraid I haven't met you yet, I'm Rebecca Logan." Rebecca held out her hand to Chris who looked at Cappie apprehensively before taking it.

"I'm sorry; this is my Best friend Chris. She just transferred here from Princeton."

"I'm thrilled to meet you!"

Casey tried not to laugh at Chris' obvious disdain for the girl, but couldn't hold it in when Chris' only response was a short "I bet you are."

Rebecca was noticeably thrown by the hostile attitude at the table and didn't even bother to acknowledge Beaver before turning to leave. But then she stopped, as soon as they were all certain she was leaving, and turned around to whisper in Cappies ear just loud enough for everyone to hear. "You should give me a call soon…we had such a good time last time, it would be a pity not to have another go."

And with that she was gone and the damage was done. Casey suddenly couldn't breathe. She stood up from the table as if in a trance. "I have to go…I'll talk to you soon Chris…Cappie…" she didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't think of a single word that would cover the full spectrum. After all, how could she be mad…they hadn't been together at the time…they weren't together now.

She felt like a Zombie as she walked through the door of the ZBZ house…she felt the tears welling up…was she actually going to cry over this? She hadn't cried when Evan had cheated on her with…why was it always Rebecca! Sure she was mad then but now…now she was just hurt.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Cappie felt Chris' hand rubbing his back as he sat with his head laid on the table. Never in his life had he regretted one event so much as he did sleeping with Rebecca Logan. It was over now, everything he had going with Casey, there was no way in hell they could recover from this.

"I don't think I've ever hated someone quite this much after knowing them only two minuets." Chris said to Beaver and she pulled Cappie back off the table and leaned his now Gumby body against his chair. "Is she always like this?"

"Usually." Beaver answered, looking at Cappie with concern. "Do you want me too help you get him back to the house?"

"No…Cappie's not going to the Kappa Tau house…he's going to the ZBZ house."

"What!" Both men said in unison as Chris helped Cappie to his feet.

"Cap, it's time you fight for Casey. You've been complacent for way too long my friend. Okay, so you screwed up pretty majorly… but you LOVE Casey, and its time you tell her that once and for all. Apologize, grovel, beg, do something!" Chris pushed Cappie in the direction Casey had gone. "After everything, all you two have gone through, you can't let that little bitch screw this up. GO!"

Cappie didn't argue, he knew Chris was right. Fighting for Casey was the only thing he could do…aside from throwing their entire relationship out the window. Now the question of what he should say echoed through his mind as he walked through the streets in the direction of the ZBZ house…and how he was going to convince the girls to let him into the house.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Okay, I know I suck for letting this go with out being updated in forever. To say I am a busy college student is an excuse, so please just forgive me and enjoy!**

"Do you think he can pull this off?" Beaver asked turning back to Chris.

"I have no idea…but at least he's trying this time." Chris' eyes followed Cappie then turned back to Beaver and smiled. "Sooo…"

"So?" Beaver's smile echoed hers and he stood up quickly.

"What are you doing?"

"I just thought you might want to check out these new binoculars I just bought…" His smile turned into a smirk as he went to pull out her chair for her.

Chris's eyes grew wide as she realized the implication. "We couldn't!"

"We could…"

"But we shouldn't…"

Beaver laughed. "It would be wrong…"

"Let's go." Chris said leading the way in the same direction Cappie had gone.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Casey had never felt as hurt and let down as this in her whole life. Her break up with Evan had hurt yes, and at one time she had thought her initial break up with Cappie would kill her. But no. Neither of them even remotely compared to the tightening in her chest now. She could call Ashleigh to come and help her find solace, but even though they were best friends it just didn't feel as natural as the other number she pushed into the keypad of her phone.

"Hey, Rusty…Can you come over for a while?"

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Cappie had been standing in front of the ZBZ house for a solid ten minuets when he felt the tap on his shoulder that nearly made him jump out of his skin. The voice that accompanied it was harsh, but as near to forgiving as anyone could ever be. "What happened this time?"

"I screwed up major little brother." Cappie turned to face Rusty.

"Cas found out about Rebecca Logan, hu? Did you tell her?"

Cappie shook his head. "I should have…"

"She didn't hear it from…did she?" Rusty let out a sigh and hunched his shoulders when Cappie simply nodded. "It doesn't get worse than that."

Cappie suddenly realized the oddity of Rusty being there at that moment and looked at him hard. "She called you didn't she."

"yea."

"The return of the Cartwright kids hu? I'm glad." Cappie looked back up at the window that he knew to be Casey's room. "Listen, I need to talk to her…bad…if you could just go up there and talk her off the ledge…I'll be up in like five minuets…"

"I'm not sure…"

Cappie's eyes told a story that Rusty couldn't ignore, and without finishing his sentiment Rusty nodded and started walking up the steps of the ZBZ house. "Oh and Russ…"

"Yea?"

"Do your self a favor and don't tell her that you already knew…"

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"Wait what's he doing? Why isn't he going in there with Rusty?" Chris said as she peered through the bushes of the Tri Pi lawn with Beaver leaning over her in a way that made her feel both flustered and incredibly safe all at once.

"He's prepping her…sending Spitter in to talk to her before going in himself…smart move"

They watched a few more minuets before Cappie finally took a visibly large breath of air and walked through the door of the ZBZ house.

"There he goes…" Chris turned around and sat down…Beaver didn't move from his spot hovering above her. "What now?"

"Now we wait." Beaver's breath seemed to catch in his chest as he said it, and suddenly feeling nervous. Chris in his eyes was wholly confident in the situation, however, as she smiled up at him knowing what was about to happen. As their lips finally touched for the first time Beaver felt a wave of assurance rush though him and all fear he might have felt with their relationship was suddenly gone.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

As Cappie walked up the stairs to the second floor of the ZBZ house he could hear the muffled sounds of Rusty and Casey talking from behind the door of what he knew to be the Presidents room. Casey's voice sounded even more pained to him here than it had in the moment after Rebecca had let the secret slip.

"Rusty, I understand that you have both of our interests at heart here, but I don't think I can move on from this…"

"But it's not like you were together at the time…" Rusty rationalized.

"I know…and that should matter…but it doesn't…That girl just makes me feel an inch tall with the way that she slithers into every part of my life! She already slept with my boyfriend…and now she's taken the one person in the whole world who ever really loved me for being just me…"

If Casey felt an inch tall, than Cappie felt nonexistent, hearing how hurt she was from her own mouth was ten times harder than simply knowing she was in pain. The fact that he had created this pain for her was enough to make him want to jam a knife in his own heart, and he might have, if he didn't know there would be an added effect on her.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"Thanks Cas…" Rusty muttered at her last comment, as he stood up from her desk chair where he had been sitting.

"I didn't mean YOU! You're my brother; you have to love me no matter what." Casey softened. She threw one of the pillows next to her on the bed at him. "And for the record, I love you too…no matter how dorky you are."

"Again, thanks…"Rusty sighed deeply. "Talk to him…please…"

Casey ran her fingers through her hair. "Even if I thought I could, he probably wouldn't want to discuss this with me anyway…we're not together…he can date who ever he wants…"

The door opened as she spoke and Cappie interrupted her. "No Cas…I can't."

"Cappie, what are you doing here?" Casey's voice shrank to a whisper.

"I'm gonna go…" Rusty said beginning to sneak out.

Cappie nodded to him that it was okay but Casey stopped him. "No Rusty, stay…"

"But…"

"Sit Rusty!" Casey pointed to the chair he had been in and he quietly returned there. "Anything you want to say to me can be said in front of my brother."

"Our brother." Cappie corrected her.

"Get to the point Cappie." Casey said looking out the window averting her eyes at all costs. The settled briefly on what appeared to be two sets of legs sticking out of a bush on the Tri Pi lawn, but she quickly lost focus of that when she felt someone sit down on the bed next to her.

Cappie's voice was soft and sincere as he began to speak. "Casey I screwed up pretty badly."

"Like I said you can date or sleep with anyone you want Cappie." Casey's teeth were clenched and she tried her best to hide the tears coming out of her eyes.

"And like I said, no I can't. Casey after we broke up I filled my life with as many girls as possible, but I never did it to hurt you…I did it because I was trying to move on…which we both know didn't work…"

Casey scoffed. "So your trying to tell me that sleeping with Rebecca Logan was the first time you slept with someone to try to hurt me?"

Cappie looked down at his hands and sighed before looking over at Rusty who was trying his best not to pay attention to the conversation surrounding him. "Of course not…I was drunk, and she had been being nice…I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you…I love you Cas."

Casey didn't know how to respond, part of her had known or assumed all those things already, but hearing Cappie say them helped a little. "I think you should go."

Rusty finally piped up "Casey just hear him out."

Casey wondered why she had wanted her little brother stay in the room for this, as she turned away from Cappie again.

He didn't wait for her to tell him to leave again before continuing to talk. "I shouldn't have done it Casey…any of it…and I don't just mean Rebecca…"

She began fiddling with the pillow she had been holding, trying to think of anything else in the world.

"I shouldn't have slept with any of them…none of them were ever in your league Casey, and they never replaced you." Cappie reached over and turned her face to look at him. "I should have tried harder to get you back after you broke up with me…but I was stupid and I thought you might come back…then you got with Evan and I thought that my life was over…"

"…so why not fill it with as many hot drunk chicks as possible…" Casey spat, her voice rich with sarcasm. Finally her true feelings had surfaced, yes his sleeping with Rebecca hurt a lot, but it was his disrespect for himself over the past year that hurt her more. She had watched while he floated from girl to girl subconsciously wondering how she measured up, any love that she had thought he had for her in the time they dated had been seriously undermined by his form of "grief".

"I'm not going to do that anymore Casey. I love YOU, and I will do anything to get you back. But regardless of whether that happens or not I am not going back to that. They don't fill the void that you left; I don't think anyone ever will. So from now on I'm done with one night stands and pointless dates that get me nowhere."

"How valiant of you." Casey whispered. Were her defenses failing or was she just too emotionally tired to deal any more?

Cappie got off the bed and kneeled down on the floor in front of her. "Casey Cartwright I told you three months ago that where I saw myself in ten years was with you and I meant it. I know I didn't fight hard enough for you when we broke up but I'm fighting for you now. Just tell me what I need to do to make this better and I'll do it."

Casey looked at him hard. He meant every word of it. She knew that. She had hurt him too, in so many ways…her getting with Evan had been so many times worse than him sleeping with Rebecca, after all the boys had been friends first. But Cappie would never even consider using that against her, it wasn't his way. She had ruined him and here he was apologizing to her for all the things she had pushed him too.

The tension in the room was so thick that Rusty felt like he couldn't breathe. He just kept watching his sister expectantly as she looked down at Cappie with an expression on her face that he couldn't read. She still loved Cappie, Rusty could see it a mile away, but was she willing to let herself be happy just this once?

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

**AN: Cliff hanger! Let me know what you think and I'll see what I can do to get the next chapter up soon. BTW- I am sooo not thrilled with the Cappie /Rebecca thing going on in the actual show now (but I still LOVE Greek), so I'm going to continue to ignore this season in this story.**


	10. Chapter 10

"He's been in there a while now…" Chris observed, finally coming up for air and looking back through the bushes.

Beaver moved into a sitting position next to her. "That can only mean good things." 

"Why?"

Beaver laughed slightly and put his arm around her. "It means that she's giving him the time of day, she would have kicked him out if she didn't want to talk to him…"

Chris nodded. "I wish I could be up there with him…moral support and all…"

"Cappie has the wordsmith thing under control, if anyone can get Casey back it's him. Now get up. Let's go back to the Kappa Tau house and get some dinner while we wait this out." Chris nodded as he helped her up out of their bush and the two walked hand in had back towards the Kappa Tau house.

"I could honestly kill that Rebecca girl. You know she knew exactly what she was doing when she let that one slip." Chris stopped as the two walked down the side walk. "Actually…I think that's a great idea…"

Beaver turned to look at her concerned by what that could mean. "What are you going to do?"

"WE are going to go find Rebecca Logan, and then I'm going to put that two faced spoiled brat in her place…might as well try the ZBZ house first right?" Chris turned into the Zeta Beta lawn without giving Beaver a chance to respond, and knocked on the door. When some poor girl she didn't know answered Chris put on her best smile and asked for Rebecca.

"Oh, um…I think she went to Dobbler's…" The girl answered happily. "If she's not there I would try the Psychology building."

"Thank you!" Chris said turning to leave. "Hey Beav, want a drink?"

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The silence in Casey's room had become too much for Cappie. It had been a good five minuets since he had poured his heart out the girl who was still staring down at him at his place on the floor. "Casey?" He whispered, hoping she would say anything at all.

She didn't respond, and Cappie's heart broke as he stood up nodding and began to walk towards the door. He hadn't lied; he wasn't even close to being done fighting for her; but he had better just chalk this one up to a lost battle and focus on the war.

Rusty just looked at him solemnly as he grew closer and closer to the door. Cappie knew this was hurting the little guy to watch almost as much as it was killing him. But then something unexpected happened as he began to turn the door knob.

THWACK. Something soft hit him in the back of the head ad he turned around to see Casey standing on her bed ready to throw another round ZBZ pillow at him.

"For someone who claims to be fighting for me Cappie, you're pretty quick to run away!" Casey threw the next pillow at him. "You screwed up, and I can't forgive you just because you give an amazingly sweet and sincere little speech about how much you love me. Real life doesn't work like that!"

"Okay." Cappie took a careful step closer to her, afraid of what might be the next thing to come flying.

Casey stepped down on her bed onto the floor. "But I was wrong too…a lot…"

Cappie looked at her confused. Rarely did Casey admit to being wrong, even when she was, but here he had no idea how she could believe that she was anything but innocent in this situation.

"I can't forgive you Cappie until you can forgive me…I broke up with you for a stupid reason without meaning too, and I let my pride keep me from going back to you. Then I started dating Evan even though I knew it would hurt you because I wanted to get ahead in the sorority…Don't get me wrong…I did have feelings for him…But I loved you all along…I just let myself forget it for a while…" Casey looked over at Rusty. "I have my…our… little brother to thank for pulling me out of my stupidity."

"Me?" Rusty looked confused at his sudden inclusion in the conversation.

"If you hadn't come here Rusty, I would have never found out that Evan cheated on me with…her..."

"…and you would have never come to see me that night at the pool hall…" Cappie smiled at the memory.

"It was Rusty's coming here that opened all these old wounds again…wounds I created Cappie. Not you."

This time it was Cappie's turn to look hard at her. "That's debatable Cas…"

"So do you forgive ME Cappie?" Casey's eyes searched his looking for some semblance of understanding.

Cappie took a step closer to her, now within arms reach. "You admitted that you love me…"

"Yea I did…"

He took another step. "And I already said I still love you."

Casey's mouth began to form a smile against her will. "That you did."

Cappie reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. "Remember when we watched _Love Story_ together? What did we learn that day?"

"Cap…"

His hands moved to the sides of her face. Suddenly Rusty felt very out of place in the situation and began to move towards the door. "Casey…Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Casey didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course their issues were far from gone, but suddenly they didn't seem as impossible to conquer as they had only minuets before. They loved each other and that was all that mattered. "So you forgive me then?"

Cappie laughed, and instead of answering the question he closed the gap left between them and pulled her into a deep kiss.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"I really don't think this is a good idea Chris. I know that what she did was bad…worse than bad, bordering on evil, but you just met this girl." Beaver said trying to stop her.

Chris turned around. She was mad. Not at him, honestly she doubted it was possible for her ever to be truly mad at Beaver; but in her mind Rebecca Logan represented everything wrong that had happened to her and Cappie in the last year. She didn't care about making an ass of herself; this was something she had to do in order to put the story to rest once and for all. "Beaver, I understand if you don't want to come. But this is something I have to do. I'll meet you back at the Kappa Tau house later if you want."

"I'm not going to let you go alone." Beaver said walking up next to her. "If this is really what you want to do then this is what we'll do."

"It is." Chris said with as much finality as she could.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Rusty managed to escape Casey's room with out any argument from his sister and headed down stairs feeling happy with how things had turned out for two of the most important people in his life. He did however need a drink now…who wouldn't?

He walked quickly towards Dobbler's without much thought. It had been a long day for him and there wasn't much on his mind now except for what brew of beer he wanted.

Upon walking in the door he immediately noticed Beaver and Chris standing at a table, Beaver watching Chris cautiously while sipping on a beer and Chris doing the second of three shots of a dark brown liquid. "Hi guys! What's going on here?"

"Chris is about to defend Cappie's honor." Beaver said solemnly.

"What?" Rusty asked.

Beaver simply pointed to the bar where Rebecca Logan stood laughing with some girl. Rusty's eyes widened and he looked over at Chris who winced a bourbon smile at him. "Is that such a good idea?"

"Third best idea I've had all day, right Beaver?" Chris smiled at him with a slight twinkle in her eye.

"I've got your back Chris." Was all Beaver said, and she nodded gathering up her courage.

She walked past them both and stopped briefly to look at Rusty. "I might be able to teach you textbooks full of things about Physics Rusty but this is one lesson they you really should take notes on."

With that she headed off towards the bar. Rusty turned back to Beaver with a questioning look. "This isn't going to end well is it?"

"One of these girls is going to walk out of here with her ego handed to her on a platter; I just hope it's not mine." Beaver sat down on a stool behind him to watch the show.

Rusty did the same as he continued to watch. "So you and Chris are together now?"

"Yea."

"Good to hear…" Rusty looked back over to where Chris was tapping on Rebecca's shoulder. "It probably would have been good if I had told her that Casey and Cappie made up, before she went over there…" 

Beaver laughed, it was all he could do. "Nah, now she's got more momentum."

Chris could feel Beaver and Rusty's eyes on her back as she walked towards the bar, and the force behind their stares pushed her closer and closer to Rebecca. She reached out and tapped on the younger girls shoulder and held her breath when until she turned around.

"Chris! How good to see you again!" Rebecca's insincerity fueled Chris's anger.

"Cork it Logan. I just wanted to tell you that what you did today was shitty. It might not have been _the _shittiest thing you've ever done but I thought you should know that most people would rank it right up there with calling the IRS on your grandmother."

"I'm sorry…how does this affect you in anyway?"

"Cappie is my BEST friend, and Casey is my friend. You however are nothing more than a little rich girl with a superiority complex. Did daddy not give you enough attention as a child? Or is this behavior just an attempt to make lasting friendships?" Chris grabbed the bar for support.

"Where do you get off…?" Rebecca stepped back as Chris continued.

The alcohol in Chris's system began to kick in. "Someone has to stop this behavior Rebecca, and since you seem to be completely incapable of controlling your self serving whims, I think it's important that you know that _I_ won't let you hurt my friends anymore. Feel free to continue ruining your own reputation and burning bridges around here, just leave the people I care about out of it."

"And let Casey go on thinking she's the Queen of the ZBZ castle? I don't think so." Rebecca tapped on the bar innocently for another drink.

Chris laughed at the routine. "You really don't remember me do you?"

"Excuse me?"

Chris just stared at her. "We met three years ago at the Governor's ball. You were there helping to promote your father on his bid for Senator." Rebecca's eyes flashed slight recognition. "My father is William Davidson, owner and CEO of The Rockfill Group…and one of your father's biggest supporters…"

The young debutante's face grew pale and she stepped back slightly.

"Now unlike some I hate to use my father's position in society for personal gain, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception. Imagine what would happen if my father and I had a little talk about how his favorite politician's daughter treated those around her and failed to hold up the values that make her dad's position so inviting?" Chris stepped forward towards Rebecca, dropping her voice slightly. "Then imagine what would happen if my father in turn told his friends, other big business owners, about this information?"

"You wouldn't."

"I would. There is no phone with dirty videos on it for you to break now Logan. If you don't shape up it could be the difference between your national reputation…or even your father's next election…"

Rebecca looked away from Chris's hard face and tried to hide the obvious sting of tears in her eyes. "I get the message."

"You better. Stay away from Cappie and Casey." Chris said as she turned around and walked a back to the table where Beaver and Rusty sat, grabbed her purse, nodded to the boys and walked out of Dobbler's. Beaver and Rust followed close behind.

**Okay, Cappie and Casey are back together, Chris and Beaver are together, and Rusty is…Rusty. I've got some ideas where to go from here, but I'm willing to hear a little input. I do know that Chris is going to feel a little guilty for playing dirty with Rebecca…Like she said; she doesn't like using her dad's position as leverage. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chris walked slowly back down the now darkened roads that lead to the Kappa Tau house, lost in thought and anger. Beaver and Rusty followed her solemnly, keeping the distance that both could tell she wanted.

"You should talk to her." Rusty whispered. "If you're together than you should talk to her."

"But she's upset."

Rusty sighed audibly. "Exactly…"Beaver looked over at him only to receive a push in her direction from his brother. "Go!"

Running ahead to catch up with her Beaver instinctively put his arm around her and pulled her into him while they walked, saying nothing.

Chris was the first to speak, ad when she did it was barely above a whisper, and almost as if the words were catching in her throat. "I don't want to be that person Beav…"

"What person?"

"The type of person who uses what their parents worked so hard to build against others. I lowered myself to her level tonight, something I swore I would never do." Chris's head rested in the crook of his shoulder as her tears began to fall.

Beaver had never been in this place before, he wasn't the type of guy girls felt comfortable crying around. But with Chris everything had been different from the beginning, she liked him in a way that no girl ever had…and somehow he knew how to respond to her feelings and emotions without doubts. "But you did it for your friends. You did it for Cappie… We all do things we're not proud of, but you didn't do it to serve your self, you didn't want to do it. That's courage babe."

"Is that what I did? Because it feels like Cappie and Casey didn't need me to do that, it feels like _I_ wanted to do that."

Beaver stopped walking and turned her to face him. "It's over now. Rebecca needed someone to make her think twice about her actions and you did that. Now you might not have done it in a way that you're proud of, but I'm proud of you. And your not like Rebecca…she uses her father's position to get whatever she wants, and you have completely created your own path Chris. You are successful in your own right, and you're a good person so…"

Chris silenced him with a kiss. In those few sentences he had said all the things that she had been waiting to hear for such a long time. All there was left to do was to make sure that she could make him feel as comfortable in the relationship as he had made her.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The front door of the Kappa Tau house opened loudly as Chris, Beaver and Rusty entered, causing to Cappie and Casey to look over at them happily from the couch.

"Where have you three been?" Cappie asked, standing up.

"Dobbler's." The three answered in unison.

Cappie feigned hurt. "And you didn't call me?"

Chris walked over to an oversized chair and threw herself down. "Well it wasn't exactly a fun trip…I had some business to take care of."

Cappie sat back down next to Casey and looked over at his friend intrigued. "What, are you in the Mob now?"

"No…but its better if we don't talk about it. Wait…" Chris finally processed that Casey was there and not still back in her room. "…you worked it out?"

Casey looked over at Rusty confused. "You didn't tell them?"

"No, he told me." Beaver said setting himself down on the arm of the chair Chris was in. "But Chris here had other things on her mind…"

"But this is great! Everything's great now. Beaver and I are together, your together…you are officially together now right? No more just friends?" Chris looked back and forth between the two.

Casey looked over at Cappie expectantly, and he just stared blankly back at her. She sighed, and then laughed. "Yea, were back together…we're not perfect, but we're working on it."

"It doesn't have to be perfect." Rusty said as he walked back towards the kitchen for a drink "You all just need to be happy."

Cappie looked around the room at his friends and smiled. Rusty was right they did all just need to be happy, no more, no less. And for the first time in a very long time he was. He reached over and grabbed Casey's hand and squeezed it in his own, and she glanced back at him and smiled.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Two Days Later

"Okay I just have to run upstairs and change and we can leave, alright?" Chris asked Beaver outside her apartment building.

"Why don't I just come up with you instead of waiting here?"

Chris laughed "Because if you come up then we'll never get to the movie on time."

"Christina!" He asked offended, and moved to open the door.

"I'm serious Bev. I'll be right back… Cappie and Casey are waiting for us at the theater, and we have to stop and buy cheap candy on the way. Stay here!" without looking back Chris ran into the building and caught the closing doors of the elevator just in time. The past few days had been great, she and Beaver were still taking things slow and she had noted that Cappie and Casey appeared to be as well. They were all going to do things right this time, nothing and nobody was willing to screw up again.

The door to her apartment opened with a creak and Chris made a mental note to buy some WD-40 in the next couple of days. It would probably be a helpful to sleep in her own bed tonight, the couch at Kappa Tau was not good for her back, and sleeping in Cappie's room was becoming a bad idea due to their tendency to stay up far to late talking (Plus Beaver seemed to be a little weirded out by it).

Pushing the play button on the Answering machine as she walked past it into her room Chris took note of the various people she should be calling back. Her mom had called twice before calling her cell phone, the professor she T.A.'d for called and wanted her to sub a class next week, and Wade and Cappie had left a drunken crank call the night before. Chris was laughing at this message as she pulled an old tee-shirt over her head as the machine clicked over to the next message.

"Christina, its Ken." She stopped moving at the sound of his voice. "Look, I realize that you don't wish to speak with me but I'm going to be in Ohio in a couple days for a conference and I think we should get together and talk over coffee. Please call me back. I miss you, and you're the only one who has any idea if my work is going to fly. I still love you Christina…"

Now he had gone too far. Love? Never once when they had been together had Ken ever told her sincerely that he loved her. That four letter word had been a tool he used over her, something he had always known she wanted to hear and kept until there was something he needed from her. Chris was impressed with herself that she recognized that now. Just hearing his voice on the line was enough to tell her that she was over him, that all she needed in her life was here now. The question was, was she strong enough to tell him that to his face?

Her cell phone buzzed on the counter as she walked back into the kitchen, Beaver was getting impatient down stairs and she laughed…How would he feel about all of this?

Resigned to talk it out in full with Cappie she hurried back down stairs and into Beavers waiting arms.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

"You're late." Cappie pointed at Chris as she and Beaver moved into their seats next to him and Casey.

"I know…I hope I'm not pregnant!" Chris joked.

"What?!" Beaver looked startled.

Casey laughed. "She's joking Bev."

"Right….I knew that."

After sitting down and waiting for the lights to fall over the theater. Chris leaned over to Cappie as carefully as she could not to alert Beaver. "I need to talk to you later…Just us."

"Sure. Is something wrong?"

Chris shook her head. "I don't think so…it's just best friend stuff."

"What are you twelve? Best friend stuff?" Cappie laughed.

Chris pushed him in his seat. "You're a jerk you know that!"


End file.
